Evaluation of some long non coding RNAs expression and their relation to GABAergic dysfunction in epilepsy in Egyptian patients / Submitted by Aya Ahmed Kamal Zayed, (Bachelor degree of Pharmacy (2014), Teaching Assistant, Biochemistry Section, Faculty of Pharmacy, Future University in Egypt (FUE)); Supervision of Prof. Dr.Amira A. Shaheen, Professor of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Prof. Dr. Hebatallah A.Darwish, Professor of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Future University in Egypt, Dr. Mae M. Selim, Associate professor of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Future University in Egypt

Supervision of Prof. Dr.Amira A. Shaheen, Professor of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Prof. Dr. Hebatallah A.Darwish, Professor of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Future University in Egypt, Dr. Mae M. Selim, Associate professor of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Future University in Egypt

Thesis (M.Sc.)-Cairo University, Faculty of pharmacy, Department of Biochemistry, 2023.

Includes bibliographical references.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. Lately, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been increasingly appreciated as regulators of epilepsy-related processes, however, their functional role in its pathogenesis is still to be explored. This study investigated the expression levels of lncRNAs; BDNF-AS and 17A in the sera of Egyptian patients with idiopathic generalized and symptomatic focal epilepsy and correlated their levels with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), phosphorylated cAMP reaction element-binding protein (p-CREB), gamma- aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate, to underline their related molecular mechanism. A total of 70 epileptic patients were divided into two clinical types, besides 30 healthy controls of matched age and sex. The expression levels of both lncRNAs were markedly upregulated in epileptic groups versus healthy control with predominance in the symptomatic focal one. Epileptic patients showed significantly lower levels of BDNF, p-CREB, GABA along with significant increases of glutamate levels and glutamate/ GABA ratio, especially in symptomatic focal versus idiopathic generalized epileptic ones. The obtained data raised the possibility that these lncRNAs might be involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy via inhibition of GABA/p-CREB/BDNF pathway. The study shed light on the putative role of these lncRNAs in better diagnosis of epilepsy, particularly symptomatic focal epilepsy.

Text in English, abstracts in English and Arabic.